Depression: Would you spot it?

Part 2 on my blogs about depression. I aim to cover the symptoms of depression.

Depression is not always easy to spot in people so cover it up as best they can while they are with people. Some people just don't read the signs. Once again this is a case of people not knowing enough about it to spot them.

It is my belief that everyone should at least know the symptoms and look out for signs of it. But specially people who are in a position of power i.e. Boss, Teacher, Youth Worker Etc. Are these people given enough training to be able to help.

Its not just up to these people to spot it everyone should know the symptoms. Not everyone will show them but for those who do you might just save someone.

As with most illnesses some of the symptoms are easy to spot and some are very difficult. All the more so with psychological illnesses.

A few of the most obvious ones are: Slowed or slurred Speech, Fatigue, Lack of motivation to do anything and a drop in performance at work or school.

There are various list of symptoms on the Internet along with a short survey you can take.

So who ever you are take a few minutes out and have a quick flick through and learn some. You never know you might be able to help someone you know. But remember there is a difference between someone being in a bad mood and depression.

I am going to mix it up next week and touch on a different subject. Feel free to leave me any suggestions

Depression: Would you admit to it?

Today I'm going to cover the sensitive subject of depression. Why do we have such problems talking about something that affect so many people.

New research that has been carried out by Turning point shows that around 75% of people will suffer from depression in the UK at some stage in their lifetime. Of these only a 1/3 of them seek professional medical help. With another 1/3 turning to other resources or means of help. That leaves at today's population 15,250,000 people that will suffer from depression at some stage in their life and suffer in silence.

Now maybe you have been one of this 75% already or maybe sometime in the future you might be. Have you or would you seek help?

Is there enough done to raise the awareness of Depression and other mental health problems that cost the country billions a year? But more importantly the cost to the people who suffer is much greater?

Most reports that are done highlight how these illnesses affect the economy etc. But how often do the reports in the news focus on the human cost of them and how it affects the individual?

The effectiveness of treatments for depression vary depending on who you talk to. Some believe that it can be treated with anti depressants while other believe Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is the best option. These are the ones that are mostly recommended by doctors due to them having their hands tied by both cost and time restraints.

31 million prescriptions for anti depressants are made up every year. Can they really be the best way forward....

While they may work for some people they won't for everyone. Are anti depressants just a short term stop gap. When will the NHS offer more services for the long term treatment for depression and start devoting more time to helping those who suffer. So much is done to raise the awareness of the health risks of smoking and helping people give up smoking why is more not done to help protect peoples mental health.

A good article on depression was recently done for the Guardian by Luiza Sauma

I will be covering more on depression in the following weeks as its a subject that i feel strongly about.

Post office blog

OK well i spend a lot of time in the post office so i thought i would use this time and write a blog. This has ended up with it going all over the place and not really making sense due to the amount of time i had each day to write it and what mood i was in.

I hope you enjoy the read.

Day 1

You have the young adults picking up the form for their provisional driving licence or travel money for their school trips.
The people posting birthday presents to distant relatives.
The business people sending out people purchases

Day 2
Queue is huge today nearly out the door. Why did they shut the smaller post offices they provided a valuable service to people in small villages specially those with no transport. Cutting cost at the expense to everyone else.
People are too busy to point the finger at the staff who are doing the best they can it's not their fault that they are understaffed and overworked. But people need a scapegoat and like the nhs it's tv staff that get most of the problems when doing the best they can and working harder and longer than others to provide a crucial service to everyone.
Are the youth of today growing up to quickly? Is it the media to blame or societies views an beliefs that they should be more mature all the time. Are the kids These days missing out on their childhood?
When did it stop being safe for them to play outside without the risk of being abducted or a victim of a crime. Is the break down in society due to the fact that generations don't mix anymore and that the developments in technology has created a bigger divide in the lack in common the generations have.

Is it just that they don't understand one another.

Day 3

Had a random night last night made me think a lot about things I need to sort out what I want my life but how many people really know what they want to do with them selves?
Why do our local council spend loads on looking after the town centre when the roads are in such a poor state of repair. What do they do with the council tax I pay?
I understand they have costs to cover but the only thing we seem to have is a giant water feature that doesn't work and will cost tens of thousands to repair.

Day 4

Depression is all around us 1 in 4 will suffer some form in our lives with 1 in 10 suffering the most sever type.
How you deal with if is the key. It is set off by various different things and everyone will have their own ways of coping with it. Most people who haven't suffered don't understand what it's like and can get frustrated by someone never seeming to be happy when they can't Help it and want nothing more than to be happy again. More needs to be done to raise awareness of this illness so it can be spotted earlier and treated before it becomes to bad.